Minnesota, Wisconsin break ground on $1.8B Blatnik Bridge replacement

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(The Center Square) – State officials from Minnesota and Wisconsin gathered along with federal and local partners to break ground on the $1.8 billion Blatnik Bridge replacement project.

This will be one of the largest public works projects in Minnesota state history.

“The Blatnik Bridge is a vital link for Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the broader regional economy. It carries thousands of vehicles and trucks every day, moving goods, supporting commerce, and connecting communities. That’s why we need to build a bridge to last,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said. “I’m proud to have secured federal investments to replace Blatnik and to help ensure local workers do the jobs that will build it. This project will support more than one million good-paying labor hours and strengthen the future of the region for generations to come. We’re building a better Minnesota, and this bridge shows it.”

Opened in 1961 and nearing the end of its service life, the Blatnik Bridge was projected to have to close by 2030 and is already unable to carry overweight freight loads.

The bridge, which connects Superior and Duluth, is jointly owned and operated by the Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

Both states committed $400 million for the replacement project, while the federal government also awarded it $1 billion from the Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight and Highway Projects program in 2024.

Construction is projected to continue through 2032 in phases.

"The Blatnik Bridge project is one of the largest MnDOT has ever undertaken, and it’s taken a lot of coordination with state, local, federal, and tribal governments, as well as collaboration with our business, labor, and industry partners, to get us to this project milestone,” said Nancy Daubenberger, the Minnesota Department of Transportation commissioner. “We look forward to building a new bridge that is safer and better serves our state and region.

More than 33,000 vehicles cross the current bridge each day, while more than 265,000 trucks annually transport nearly $4 billion in goods.

“Many businesses across the upper Midwest rely on the bridge to reach the Port of Duluth-Superior, the largest U.S. port on the Great Lakes,” Walz’s office said in a statement. “The bridge is also one of the largest marine links for U.S. trade with Canada, the top trade partner of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the United States.”